Minister of Education, Higher Education and Skills Development Ismail Shafeeu has announced that Key stage one students in the Maldives will sit an international assessment in November 2026. The assessment will allow their performance to be compared with children of the same age in other countries.
Speaking at a ceremony held to mark the release of the Key stage three National Assessment of Learning outcomes report, the minister said the government believes in shaping the country’s education system based on evidence. Although National Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Key stage one and two were conducted, adequate measures were not taken based on the results, he said. The minister said the government is now using previous assessment data to guide education policy and curriculum reforms.
As outlined in President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s presidential address this year, the ministry is revising thematic textbooks and teaching methods to benefit both students and teachers. The National Assessment prepared by the Quality Assurance Department is significant in this process, he said.
The minister further said in the latest national assessment for Key stage three covered five subjects, including Islam and Dhivehi. Students performed relatively better in Islam and Dhivehi, although the minister said there is still room for improvement. Mathematics remains a concern, with previous national assessments showing weak performance in mathematics.
According to the minister, this result has prompted teacher training and curriculum change for mathematics for key stage one. The ministry is working on making mathematics textbooks more engaging, and increasing the amount of classroom time allocated to mathematics.
The minister said the key stage one assessment scheduled for November will measure students’ performance in mathematics, science and English against international benchmarks. He emphasised that the desired changes can only be achieved if relevant data is available.
The minister also revealed that the ministry has been monitoring student attendance through a new system to better track attendance rates since last month.